Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will add large fin whales to its list of commercial whaling species, government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Thursday, five years after leaving an international body that regulates the commercial hunt of the marine mammals.

Japan resumed commercial whaling in its territorial waters and exclusive economic zones in 2019, on withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

This week, its... (continue reading...)

BEIJING (Reuters) -China's crude oil imports rose on the previous year in April, as refiners prepared for a fully recovered Labour Day holiday travel season, official data showed on Thursday.

Crude imports in April totalled 44.72 million metric tons, or about 10.88 million barrels per day (bpd), data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

That represented a 5.45% increase from the relatively low 10.4 million bpd imported in April... (continue reading...)

By Neil Jerome Morales and Mikhail Flores

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine economy accelerated less than expected in the first quarter, government data showed on Thursday, as weaker consumer spending offset a rebound in export growth.

Gross domestic product grew 5.7% in the first three months from the same period last year, the statistics agency said, up from the previous quarter's 5.5% but below the 5.9% forecast in a Reuters poll.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's export returned to growth in April after contracting sharply in March, customs data showed on Thursday, suggesting some improvement in overseas demand that policymakers will hope extends through the rest of this year.

Shipments from China grew 1.5% year-on-year last month, in line with the increase forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. They fell 7.5% in March, which marked the first contraction since November.

(Reuters) - A Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire and damaged several storage tanks at a fuel depot in Russia's Krasnodar region, the region's crisis administration said on Thursday.

About six drones were destroyed and debris fell on the refinery near the village of Yurovka, the administration said on the Telegram messaging app.

"Several tanks were damaged," the administration said, adding no one was injured in the attack.